This invention relates to an improved method for shaping potato dough into continuous strips for subsequent processing such as cutting, cooking, and the like. More specifically, this invention relates to a method of continuously forming potato dough into strips using a rotary shaper device.
French fried potatoes comprise a popular consumer food item. In one common form, these potatoes are sold as frozen strips of parfried natural potato for finish cooking by the purchaser prior to consumption. However, the use of natural strips of potato has several disadvantages in that the natural potatoes must be perfectly peeled and sliced to exclude peel and dark areas for proper consumer acceptance. However, the provision of potato strips in this form results in wasting a substantial portion of the potato to increase correspondingly the cost of the product supplied to the consumer. To this end, there has been a variety of attempts to prepare potato products in strip form from a potato dough wherein the end product is intended to closely simulate natural potato strips. This potato dough typically includes, at least in part, dehydrated potato components such as potato flakes and/or potato granules.
In the prior art, significant production problems have been encountered in the conversion of a potato dough into elongated dough strips for subsequent cutting to simulate natural potatoes. One common process comprises forcing the potato dough through an extrusion die to form an elongated continuous dough strip. See, for example, U.S. Pat. Nos. 3,085,020; 3,968,265; 4,082,855; and 4,135,004. However, extrusion processes place the dough under substantial pressure, which acts to reduce the fluffiness of the dough. This reduction in dough fluffiness correspondingly results in an end product which, when cooked, has a less desirable and pasty texture when compared with a fluffier dough product. Moreover, extrusion processes frequently encounter feathering of the dough as it is forced through the extrusion die to result in a dough strip having an unnatural-appearing exterior surface. Accordingly, prior art extrusion-forming processes for potato dough have produced a finish product which is less than satisfactory when compared with natural potato strips.
The process of this invention comprises an improved method for shaping potato dough into continuous dough strips for subsequent processing. The method comprises a rotary forming method which does not substantially compress the dough, and which does not encounter feathering problems.